Interests:Anything related to the paranormal,secret societies,fast cars, busty women, human behavior, reading, painting, art, magic/magick(high or low),withchcraft/wicca,candles and hot tubs. Just ask, if you are curious and want the truth, not what you want to hear.

Posted 19 April 2011 - 08:51 PM

Might help to have an "operational definition" of "critical"and "thinking". I would think "objectivety"might be more operational a phrase to use when asking the question. Does "any kind of thinking" justify inappropriate verbal comments, anything that might be seen as "abusive", any violations of the "rules of order", the old"I'm thinking and this makes me smarter than whoever". The only things that kills forums, that I seen over the years, not just here, but in other sites as well, is power. Either using it, getting it, wanting it, or abusing it. If one has a strong ego and generally considers the source, rarely will much happen, either messaged to behave or being kicked out. Depends on the mood of the owner as to how punitive he/she want to be.

Interests:Serious Research and separating the truth from the hype in the paranormal field today.

Posted 19 April 2011 - 09:15 PM

Any critical thinking is fine. There is really no limit to what one can put out as a reason for alledged paranormal activity. If someone wants to say radioactive beavers with glowing eyes floated by as an explanation for a ghost, that is fine. Won't get you banned or kicked off, (although most people might think you were a little off claiming that!) Still everyone has a right to their opinion. (I would really like to hear the explanation for the beavers though!)

Regarding power, that is spelled out in the rules. It clearly states what is / is not appropriate. The rules limit what can be said about another person. They also set the boundries on what a mod can penalize for as well. In other words they protect and apply equally to all. Anyone who has a question about what is appropriate should read the rules first. Requiring adherence to the rules is not an abuse of power. Selectively applying the rules is, whether it is being overly strict or overly lenient.

Regarding power, that is spelled out in the rules. It clearly states what is / is not appropriate. The rules limit what can be said about another person. They also set the boundries on what a mod can penalize for as well. In other words they protect and apply equally to all. Anyone who has a question about what is appropriate should read the rules first. Requiring adherence to the rules is not an abuse of power. Selectively applying the rules is, whether it is being overly strict or overly lenient.

Agree with all of this except that in a private, free forum there is no such thing as abuse of power. The owner sets the rules and reserves the right to change them at any time. If you come to my house and I say you can play with my football, it is my right to change my mind at any point. If you don't like it, there isn't a whole lot that can be done except to leave and not be my friend anymore. It would be a different story if there were some sort of fee involved in using said football.

Anyhow, I will bow out now because this thread is getting off-topic.

"If dreams are like movies, Then memories are films about ghosts.You can never escape, you can only move south down the coast.""Don't you remember when we were young, and we wanted to set the world on fire?'Cause I still am, and I still do."

Just curious...I never downplay the experiences that got me drawn into paranormal research, but I never over-embellished them either. When a critical thinker interjects into a thread, does it kill it for you?

As a Texan, I have to respond with this, and this should sum it up for me....

"Guns dont kill people, people kill people"

"Critical thinking doesnt kill forums/topics, people kill forums or topics"... and our mouths are the trigger pullers, one should be careful where they aim .....

As another member on here said, paranormal research needs skepticism, for balance. We have to be careful of what we see and what really is paranormal activity, and not let our paranormal bias override our minds.

I think where people get offended by critical thinking is when they are purely "fans" of the paranormal. They average in age about 15 or 16 years old. They go out and take pictures of dust floating around in their local graveyard and then post it on the groups Facebook page. That's all fine and good. Nothing wrong with that.
I just wish people would admit that that's exactly what they are doing. Make things so much easier. "We go out looking for ghosts because it's cool." That's fine. Good for you.
But. Don't get offended if people start asking questions.